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40THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HIGHER EDUCATION: INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
Grynyuk S.
PhD (Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences), Associate Professor Department of Foreign Philology National Aviation University Zaytseva I.
PhD (Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences), Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Philology and Translation Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics
Abstract
In the following paper the authors have investigated the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on higher education at the international level. They made a short analysis of the key areas of higher education mostly affected by the pandemic: internationalization of education, research, legislation, organization of training, financing. The authors have also examined the different backgrounds the international organizations are to provide assistance to higher education institutions: understanding the economic impact, maximising online learning, developing reliable systems, educating students on best practices and gathering information and applying learning.
Keywords: pandemic, COVID-19, higher education, internationalization of education, research, legislation, organization of training, financing.
1. Introduction
The following study is the result of the project "Potential of higher education in conditions of the pandemic: global, European, national dimensions" (registration number: 2020.01/0172) of the National Research Fund of Ukraine financed at the expense of the state budget.
Nowadays most states worldwide are experiencing the shock of COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdown affected all spheres of economy, completely changed the usual way of life, taught everyone, without exception, to live in a new dimension. Surprisingly, many areas of personal, social and professional life managed not only to resist, but also to adapt to the new realities.
One of the sectors highly affected by the corona-virus was higher education, and it can confidently be called as one of those on which the pandemic had the greatest impact on a global scale. Moreover, the field of higher education has become one of the few most prepared to transition most of its processes to online format.
All measures and activities undertaken by the world community (national governments, international organizations and associations, universities themselves) to support the higher education system afloat will obviously have an effect that has yet to be evaluated. Today we can analyze who, what and how have been done to ensure that the world of higher education does not become a fundamentally different place and can strengthen itself in the face of the global crisis.
The objective of the current study was to consider the issue of the coronavirus impact on higher education at the international level, describing and analyzing the basic areas of higher education mostly affected by the pandemic and the different backgrounds of higher education supported by the international organizations.
2. Results
The global higher education landscape has been drastically changed in the past several months due to the spread of the coronavirus. At the international level
the epidemic COVID-19 has affected the higher education sector in the following aspects:
■ Internationalization of education. The majority of higher education institutions have faced the issues of logistics organization and provision of educational process for foreign students staying for the period of the pandemic in the country of study and / or travelling home, suspended the programs of student and faculty exchange; higher education institutions have focused on finding new forms of attracting foreign students and organization of education for them; revision of forms of work with foreign partners to develop and implement joint educational programs at the Master's level.
■ Research. Three aspects can be distinguished
here:
- large international organizations and universities conduct surveys / studies on the impact of the epidemic on the higher education sector, ways to combat COVID-19 and hold expert discussions online;
- countries and universities are reviewing the organization of research work, cooperation with non-academic organizations ordering research, which is not the best way to influence the development of research Masters;
- the universities are strengthening their presence and searching for new forms of interaction in virtual research networks.
■ Legislation. Countries are forced to make amendments to the legislation on education, fixing the transition of universities to online education, conducting entrance exams and state certification online, the organization of work and remuneration of teachers, etc.
■ Organization of training. During the transition of universities to online education, most universities have strengthened cooperation with each other, national education authorities, educational platforms and international organizations: organizations provide each other with methodological support for the use of digital tools in teaching, free access to relevant training
courses, on various platforms, informal groups of students / faculty / administrators of universities are created, where relevant issues are discussed online.
S Financing. Higher education institutions are focused on the most effective use of financial resources to maintain their stable operation, understanding that in the near future the number of foreign students will decrease, government funding will decrease, it will be impossible to receive income from other activities of higher education institutions: income of the population to apply for paid educational services has decreased, many non-academic organizations during the crisis have suspended orders for scientific research due to the suspension of mass measures.
• Another trend that may affect the financial situation is relevant to the discussion on the full replacement of the offline format by online education. Experts believe that it is too early to fully talk about substitution / absorption of one format by another, and this is unlikely to happen. Whether it will happen, the benefits and advantages of implementing online and distant technologies in educational process are undeniable.
It must also be stated that during the crisis in economics and education, many international organizations consolidated their efforts to provide assistance to higher education institutions in different backgrounds. These different backgrounds are the following: understanding the economic impact, maximising online learning, developing reliable systems, educating students on best practices and gathering information and applying learning.
Understanding the economic impact. One of the biggest concerns for the sector at large is the percentage of international students that make up the domestic higher education markets. In the US alone, Chinese students make up 33.7 per cent of the foreign student population, while Indian students comprise of 18.4 per cent.
It is predicted that the flow of incoming academic mobility to the countries that have traditionally received international students from all over the world (UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia) will decrease in the coming year.
While travel restrictions to and from China have been helpful in slowing down the spread of the disease, they have also left international students stranded. According to a Covid-19 Survey by the Institute of International Education, 830 Chinese students have been unable to return to the US to continue their studies. While this may be a small percentage of the overall international student population, the question remains urgent. If the restrictions remain in place, the US higher education system, for instance, could bear the brunt of an economic downturn. It is still a question to universities and colleges around the world how to adjust their learning styles, to retain program enrolment and provide accessibility to students.
Maximising online learning. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the need to adapt teaching methodologies, due to the impossibility of having presencial classes. Therefore, online teaching and learning has played an important role in higher education for the last months.
The most effective tool in keeping student retention and maintaining access to learning has been online courses. Universities across the world have adjusted their programs in response to the spread of the corona-virus. For instance, Stanford University in the US has called off the remaining two weeks of in-class lectures, urging its professors to move any remaining lessons online. The University of Washington announced a ban on on-campus classes until after spring break, after a member of staff was diagnosed with coronavirus last week. Other universities, including New York's Hofstra University, New Jersey's Princeton University and Seattle University are making starting to make the move to virtual classes.
However, it must be highlighted that with a large number of manuals, trainings for teachers to organize online learning and use digital tools, a decline in the quality of teaching and the unpreparedness of a significant proportion of teachers was noted. In addition, not all subject areas (e.g., medicine, technical, and art specialties) can be taught online.
Developing reliable systems. While the majority of colleges and universities around the world integrate some form of online education into their coursework, moving all programs online may prove challenging. While some universities may already have strong online systems, smaller universities may struggle under the weight of the demand. University course creators should work closely with their IT departments to ensure their programs are able to be supported online.
One such university that is currently undertaking these measures is the University of Southern California, which is testing its online platforms to ensure its technology can handle its 7,000 plus lectures.
Educating students on best practices. The pandemic has made significant adjustments to the plans of potential international students to study abroad. The universities develop strategies of virtual mobility, train teachers to work with international students in the digital environment, use already created platforms of virtual mobility.
With online learning the way to go, universities try to ensure that students and staff are protected while on campus. The universities and colleges across the globe yet to implement changes to campuses in response to the novel coronavirus try to take cues from others who have already taken action. Thus, administrators are undertaking simple measures to prevent the spread of the disease on their campuses. Educators are trying to be aware of students who have travelled extensively during the breaks, and are reminding those who have been abroad in heavily affected places to be mindful about returning to campus.
The global pandemic has also confirmed that online learning is indispensable in such crisis situations; and that all educational institutions should spend the necessary amount of time and money on its development and improvement to better prepare themselves for similar historical shocks in the future.
Gathering information and applying learning. With the spread of the disease expected to worsen before it gets better, administrators of the universities are
taking quick actions to protect their campuses and students in preparation for potential closures.
The most successful universities, in addition to the use of modern approaches to online education, have created an online community of students, faculty, administrative staff that has improved the quality of education and reducing stress from social isolation. To attract international students, the universities organize a large number of online events, webinars for applicants. The universities also emphasize the importance of using online formats to communicate with applicants.
Interaction with students in this format requires the support of many business processes, such as enrolment, student assessment and data, document management. By bringing students and teachers together in a single "digital field" the education community will make a revolutionary leap forward. But, of course, there will still be lecture classrooms, seminar classrooms and physical education classes. Thus, it goes about greater integration of learning and digital administration of educational institutions.
3. Conclusion
To sum up, higher education is a business with a high level of competition, as evidenced by the close attention of all participants in the industry to the results of annual surveys, such as the world ranking of universities according to "The Time". The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to affect these rankings, and universities that can turn turbulence into an opportunity to improve their learning processes will thrive in the world after the pandemic.
The situation worldwide demonstrated that countries and universities faced the same challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, but, responded at different speeds. The higher education community is now moving from a crisis management situation to more long term planning for the new academic year. Many of the solutions implemented during the crisis showed their usefulness and will probably continue, but in order to continue offering quality education in the new academic year, careful planning should be done, as new challenges emerge.
Despite the difficulties in the adaptation to a completely different methodology for teaching, the higher education sector demonstrated reactivity in order to find solutions to the challenge raised by the pandemic, and of continuing teaching and learning. The most sen-
sitive point was to provide relevant information to students and applicants regarding the situation in higher education. The most successful countries have established funds and student aid hotlines.
The conducted research does not examine all aspects of the stated problem; it remains to see how the quality of learning is affected by the shift from face-to-face to online teaching, especially when the situation will change from a crisis management one to a new normal for the new academic year.
References
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2. IIE (2020) COVID Effects on US Higher Education Campuses. Academic mobility to and from China. URL: https://www.iie.org/COVID19-Effects-on-US-Higher-Education-Campuses
3. EUA (2020) The Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on university funding in Europe URL: https://eua.eu/resources/publications/927:the-impact-of-the-covid- 19-crisis-on-university-funding-in-eu-rope.html
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